A REALLY GOOD AND INFORMATIVE BLOG POST AWAITS YOU
I’ve done the title in ALL CAPS to make this blog post seem really urgent, interesting and important. I haven’t written it yet so I have no idea if that will be the case, but at least it gives me something to strive towards.
I’m still not 100% sure what I’m going to write about, I’ve been way behind with blog posts recently but in the absence of my nuggets of gold/bull poop I’ve come across some interesting tit bits whilst stumbling around the Internet. So I think I’ll share them with you, and you can tell me if you agree, or god forbid, disagree!
Nugget 1: Meta Keywords & Descriptions – As Much Use as a *humorous metaphor goes here”
Since the dawn of time, people have been hung up on keywords and descriptions when it comes to optimizing their sites for the search engines.
Back in the good old days (pre-Google), this was a wise thing to do, the early search engines would base their results purely on the meta keywords for a web page. So you could basically spam the hell out of the keywords and rank for any given term with very little effort.
Since Google entered the search engine market and started to implement their algorithms, meta tags have become less and less important. People still say you should use them….but they just don’t carry as much weight as they used to.
After much (about 20 minutes) research, I say that’s a nonsense, in this day and age you may as well not waste your time putting them in there, but wait! I have 2 bits of evidence to back up my almost slanderous claims. I present to you the following your Honour:
Evidence 1
Do a search on Google for “John Thornhills Marketing Masterclass”, and you’ll see results similar to this:
The first result in Google takes you to www.johnthornhillmasterclass.com which is the “official” domain for the product, BUT take a look at the source code.
There are no keywords or meta tags to be seen, there’s also no content on the page at all as far as the search engine bots are concerned, just a video and an opt-in form. Yet that site out ranks all of the competition sites, which all contain nice fancy keywords, descriptions.
So is everything you’ve ever been told about SEO one big lie?
Maybe, who knows!
But I know what you’re thinking, of course John’s official domain will be top of the list. When people are searching for “John Thornhills Marketing Masterclass” Google wants to bring back the most relevant result which is going to be the official domain.
Evidence Verdict: Circumstantial
Evidence 2
When you are doing research on how to get to the top of the rankings, who better to ask than a professional SEO company?
So I did a quick Google search and typed in “UK SEO”, the results that came back can be seen below.
There are over 30 million broad results for that term, so you’d think the site that ranked number 1 must be some sort of SEO monster, and surely they must know what they are doing. So go ahead and click on the 1st result (which for me is www.davidnaylor.co.uk), and then look at the source code.
Yes, your eyes do not deceive you. No meta keywords or descriptions, but still out ranks all of those sites that do have them.
Evidence Verdict: Conclusive
Nugget 2: Server Location Does Matter
I think I’ll save this nugget for next week, there’s only so many SEO nuggets you can digest in 1 blog post, especially if those nuggets are made from chicken and come from McDonalds, 36 is my record.
Nugget 3: A Lot Of “Internet Marketers” Are A*Holes
Did I get that right? We don’t really use the A*Hole term in the UK, so I don’t know if the * is needed or not, some American readers please put me out of my misery – misery may be the wrong word, but I’ll allow it.
But anyway, it’s a sorry fact that a lot of people online are vermin, harsh but true. I’m sure the majority of you reading this will have come across these people, and some of you will have been “burned” (not literally?) by their scams. They’ll go something like this: (This is based on a phone call I received, so I’m guessing I’m not the only one)
Dan: Hello
Phone guy: Small talk
Dan: Small talk
Phone guy: So, how’d you like to make money online
Dan: I’d love that so much more than words can express
Phone guy: Cool, we can help you with that by coaching you
Dan: Ripper (I was pretending to be Australian)
Phone guy: What’s your credit card limit
Dan: £5000
Phone guy: Cool, let me call you back
Phone guy: Hi Dan, I’ve gone through your requirements and we can turn you into Donald Trump for only £4995
Dan: Sorry, I’ve never forgiven him for splitting up with Ivana
*puts phone down*
They’ll actually target vulnerable people (not that I’m vulnerable, but I must have somehow ended up on a lead list!), ask them for their credit limit and then take it all away from them in one swoop for some BS coaching program, anyone that does that “for a living” deserves to be called an A*Hole as far as I’m concerned.
But anyway, does this nugget have a purpose or am I just venting frustration? IT HAS A PURPOSE!
Not every marketer online that offers coaching is an A*Hole, one person that falls into that category is Dave Nicholson.
I’ve known Dave for years, and I can tell you one thing about him – he likes Breaded Mushrooms.
Breaded Mushrooms are like kryptonite to A*Hole marketers, wave a mushroom under their nose and they’ll be able to outrun Usain Bolt.
But in all seriousness, anyone who has ever dealt with him will be able to confirm that he’s a stand up guy, and that he’s one of the good guys. I’m not going to try and sell you the coaching (I’d be stupid to, it hasn’t even launched yet!) , but I will provide you with this free 24 page report that he’s written, that shows you “The Real Truth About Online Marketing”.
Click on the image below to read, or right click on it to save to your computer, no opt-in required!
Nugget 4: My Faith In Human Kindness Restored
I’ll finish off (don’t cheer to loudly) by telling you a little story that happened to me over the weekend.
On Saturday I was out on an end of season football……for want of a better word – pub crawl.
On Sunday I realized that I’d either lost my wallet, or it had been stolen. It contained a bit of money, my credit/debit card and my driving license. So I quickly cancelled them all and ordered a replacement license.
I phoned round all of the taxi firms, and pubs that we’d been in but none had seen it. I tried to think where I had it last, and remembered that I must have had it in the taxi, or how would I have paid him!
But another call to the taxi company proved fruitless.
Fast forward to Tuesday morning, and a package drops through the letter box. I open it up and it’s my wallet, complete with all the cards, driving license, and the money.
There was no note in it, so I can’t be sure who sent it. But I’m assuming it must have been the taxi driver.
I thought that for him to take the time to go to the post office, and send it back, without taking any of the money inside was a very kind thing for him to do, and it’s restored my faith in human kindness.
So a lesson for you all, treat taxi drivers with respect, you never know when you may need them!
Signing off – at last!
Dan
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I liked your post, Dan. I believe most of us are buried in scams and spams from emails and phone calls. I don’t answer phone calls from 800 numbers and delete the voice mail without listening to it.
I am very tired of deleting notices of winning millions in European lotteries I didn’t enter, helping someone is several countries with inheritances from relatives I don’t have and whatever the latest brain fart scam is.
I quit reading them. I am always tempted to just respond with, “Just sent me the money and quit emailing me,” but it would just generate another blitz from them.
The American term is “assholes.”
Pat
In the UK I think assholes would translate to “Donkey Holes”, which isn’t really a great insult, no wonder we don’t use it 🙂
Well, that’s one I never heard before. It doesn’t translate to an effective insult…sort of a waste of breath.
Pat
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the wheelbarrow load of Nuggets, the only form of Bullion I’ll see this week I fear (must buy a Euromillions ticket just in case my luck changes).
Did you run a check on the Backlinks situation for all the highly placed but non-tagged sites? I ask because there has been quite a bit of discussion in other SEO areas on just how big a part these are now playing in overshadowing Content etc as the big factors in getting to the No 1 Position. The Wizard of Oz (from Essex) has even got a totally empty site to no 1 against heavy competition, and he didn’t do it with tags and content either (mind you it’s hardly of any commercial use – haha!!!). It’s been in the top 3 for several heavily searched keyword variations since last September!
I also read your previous Blogs and I’m now off to remove a whole plethora of old Plug Ins!!!
Thanks
John O’York
The SEO site had a lot of back links, and a blog that delivers related quality content so I think that’s how they rank so well. As for John’s, I have no idea, maybe it’s because he registered the domain before everyone else or something trivial like that.
Oh Dear Pat, you seem to only receive a relative handful of weirdly enjoyable dogs doodah………. I have to use Mailwasher Pro to scan my mail as I can often get 3000 emails a day, 80 to 95% of which are just that sort of SPAM! There’s no way I can even hardly look at any, except to have a laugh as some person who thinks I’m their “Dearly beloved” asks me to help with untold millions of tons of moolah that they are strangely determined to share with this unknown person (I mean “potential Idiot”).
Currently the major amount of these mailings are for drugs of some kind and the fantastic offers from Russian Brides or Lads with great schemes for having Wangs up to their ceilings have fallen off somewhat. Maybe they’ve seen my picture on line and that has turned them off!!???
How is the back of your head by the way?
John
hey Dan,
thankgod, a marketer just posting his thoughts!!
Tho I suspect you may have been chewing on some of that grass out at the back paddock!nothing like a ramble in the paddock!
I was researchi8ng to set up an affiliate niche blog the other day….looking at the competition as one does>.
an yep, ist 1 to 5 results in ist page Google,
crappy little one or 2 or 3 page sites, poor optimization,
adwords all over landing page…
yet my highly optimized content rich and on topic blog doesnt even get a look in the rankings!
I dont know how they do it but a lot of people are lying to us!!!!
by the way mate,
that was soccer you were playing,
footie’s played by real aussies!!!
Bonza mate…back to the barbie…
an stay of the grass!
cheers
hehe, the scary thing is that there’s no grass in the paddock, too many years of staring at a computer screen seem to have the same effect on me!
As for your version of football……I refuse to acknowledge it as a sport due to the ridiculous clothing that is involved, how can anyone run around in such tight shorts? 🙂
Hi Dan
I was sick of getting the phone calls all the time offering me different courses so what I do know if I have to fill in my phone number to get a product is – give them the wrong one.
Only thing is I always used the same wrong number so somebody is getting all my calls – oops.
I’m glad to hear you got your wallet back and its nice to know that there are still some decent folk around.
Regards
Dawn Kay
LOL, at least you know a good trick on someone you don’t like – give their phone number to an Internet telesalesman!
Hi Dan, Nice to speak your mind, I’m glad you got your wallet back, some people are great and noble. Some people are Good thing the guy who called to coach you didn’t find it. Terry
Yeah I think I got lucky, but it’s good to know there are still people like that around. Whenever I’m driving through Skipton I’m going to see if I can find the mysterious taxi driver to thank him.
Hi Dan
Great Nuggets of Info, look forward to next installment.
I liked No.3. I do prefer to use the Brit term ARSHOLES
for these scumbags,I have an alergy for such people.
I received a very similar phonecall in September last year and the guy made it sound like I was being interviewed for a job. Also asked me about credit card limit.
Keep up the good work Dan.
I prefer the brit version as well, but I always feel a bit rude writing it…..arse
/runs away giggling
You crack me up as always Dan. Love your sense of humor. So in essence, I spent the majority of my evening inputing meta tags and descriptions for a client, charged them for it, and it was a waste of time. Well then.
Well, not really. At least you got paid for doing it :-p
Hey Dan, my my your a lucky boy to even have got it back, shame it wasn’t before you cancelled all your cards though!
My dad once let me borrow his very expensive camera after much persuasion, then on my drunken night out, I left it in the taxi.
I phoned the taxi company and they told me to come up to their main office, then took me to a room with 50 different cameras that had been lost.
I was tempted to claim a better camera, but had to just get my dad’s back or he would have strangled me lol.
So I agree, some Taxi Drivers are nice, Sally 🙂
Yeah, I was lucky. The card thing didn’t grate on me as much as paying £20 for a replacement license, then having the old one turn up a couple of days later, you can imagine how gutted I felt – being a tight Yorkshire farmer 🙂
Shame you weren’t a little more mischievous, you could have picked up 2 cameras and given your Dad one of them for his birthday!
Hi Dan,
Great post as usual and very entertaining. I could imagine you on a drunken pub crawl! 🙂
Oh and we don’t use the word ‘Ripper’ 😆 so you would have sounded like an Australian gone wrong! 😆
One of our silly sayings is ‘Cool Bananas’ Just thought I would give you that for next time.
And No we don’t put shrimps on the barbie, they are prawns! 😆
And nor do we have kangaroos jumping down the street! 😆
And Yes we speak English. (I was asked once in America if we spoke English 😯 )
And no we don’t have Koalas as pets! 🙂 They have huge claws that hurt!!
OK what other Aussie slang do you want to know. 😛
‘No Worries’ ‘Cool’ ‘Bonza’ ‘pissed as a fart’ ‘drunk as a skunk’ …………..
Hope all is going well.
‘See Ya’
Jacinta 😆
Strewth you’ve given me a lot of Australian to learn! 😉
Hi Dan
As always. Great content and yes I am Australian and these rogues are everywhere and some of them do get away with it.
At the moment I am being hounded by someone telling me about the product I ordered and I know I never ordered anything. I might have gotten rid of them because the last time she rang I said – “I don’t care what you are selling, creating, producing or flogging – I don’t want it”. I haven’t had a call now for over a fortnight so maybe they deleted me from their list.
Yes I can relate to the one about the credit card limit because I got one of them too. What business is it of theirs.
Keep up the good work
Regards
Sue
Great post mate, I could say I done some top secret technical stuff to be top search for my Masterclass program but the truth is I don’t have a clue about SEO 🙂
And there was me thinking you’d uncovered some amazing new technique to get any page to the top of the rankings for any given search term 🙂 🙂
Dan
Thanks for a great read – made the end of the week for me! I don’t think there is anyone around who has not had to contend with one of those ‘lovely’ callers (and they sound so genuine too)
Looking forward to nugget #2 next week to find out what else is now irrelevant in trying to get to page 1.
Jacinta, you have obviously never lived in Canberra we always had roos bounding down the street 🙂
Regards
Anne
Hi Anne,
In a bizarre twist next weeks (or whenever I write it) nugget will show you a way to increase your chances of getting on Google, with evidence from none other than Google, I can hardly contain the excitement 🙂
Everything I know about Australia I’ve learned from Neighbours, and I’ve never seen a Kangaroo running down Ramsey St. so I think I have to agree with Jacinta on that one.
I stand corrected:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB8aRKT5NK0
Therefore I now agree with Anne, Australia is full of Kangaroos bouncing around cul-de-sacs.
Why is Ramsey St called a St, it’s a cul-de-sac?
Great Post Dan
Really great content, always useful ideas…
I left my wallet in the taxi more times than I can think of.
Danny
Hi Dan,
Very interesting stuff, pity i read it after spending time and effort adding meta tags to my site. 😮
Glad you got the wallet back!
As for Dave Nicholsons coaching, I am a member of that now as it’s live and kicking and you are totally right, he is one of the good guys. 🙂
Robert
hehe, typical isn’t it 🙂
You “Brits” and “Aussies” are hilarious! Visit us here in central Texas (Waco) we will teach you some “real English!”
It’s “asshole” as in anus or rectum, and there are a lot of them around in Internet Marketing.
Anyway, I love your blog, and I love the British and Australians. You folks are a “real hoot!”
Jack
Glad you like the blog, and thanks for trying to clear up the asshole/arse hole conundrum, I feel it’s raised the content quality of the blog ten fold, I challenge anyone to find another marketing blog that tries to solve one of the greatest mysteries of the English language 😀